Sometimes God, sometimes music, sometimes other stuff.
Keep me as the apple of the eye; Hide me in the shadow of Thy wings, From the wicked who despoil me, My deadly enemies, who surround me.(Psalm 17:8-9 NAS)
Our Father in heaven,Reveal who you are.Set the world right;Do what's best— as above, so below.Keep us alive with three square meals.Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.You're in charge!You can do anything you want!You're ablaze in beauty!Yes. Yes. Yes.Smile to Father, Son, and SpiritSmile to yourself.Smile to someone else.I'm home. I've arrived.There's nowhere I need to go, and nothing I need to do.I'm home. I've arrived.I have nothing to earn, nothing to prove, and nothing to pay back.I have nothing to earn because you just love me.I have nothing to prove because you already approve of me.I have nothing to pay back because you cancelled all my debts.What remains? Enjoying You…enjoying me.I'm home. I've arrived.The veil is torn. There's no distance or separation.I'm in You and You're in me, here and now, and forever.Jesus made me one with the Father, so I'm home.You're my home, so everywhere I am, I'm home.I'm home. I've arrived.I'm a blessing. You didn't have me, and you didn't like it, so you made me, and you made me exactly how you wanted me to be. I have the body, the voice, the personality, the sense of humor, the walk, and the laugh you wanted me to have. I make you happy just by being me.I'm a blessing.I'm a blessing and every day I'm a gift You give yourself to enjoy.I'm a blessing and every day I'm a gift you give me to enjoy.I'm a blessing and every day I'm a gift You give others to enjoy.I'm a blessing.I'm a blessed man.My future is bright.And my best days are ahead of me.You're working it out.You're working it out.You're working it out.Everything we've done wrongEverything that's gone wrongYou're working it out, for our good, as we love you. (Rom 8:28)Satan meant it for harm,but You are turning it for our thrivingand the saving of many lives. (Gen 50:20)You're working it out.With you as our Shepherd, Jesus,our hearts will be light, our steps will be easy.You're making us steady, resilient, and serene.Everything is temporary, but You remain.Today I meet pain tenderly — without resistance.I don't avoid, repress, or deny. I let it come, I greet it kindly, and I let it go.Today I meet pleasure gratefully — without grasping.I let it come, greet it joyfully, and I let it go.And when pain and pleasure have passed, I shall remain.Everything is temporary, but You remain and I shall remain.Sunlight is love.Air is love.Gravity is love.All plant life is love.All animal life is love.Sight, sound, smell, taste, touch — all love.Existence itself is love.All things are from, in, and for Him who is Love,and I am in Him who is Love.
Occasionally at a Wednesday Whiteboard I give a brief biography and some highlights of people I've been reading...
Psalm 4:4 When you are disturbed, do not sin; ponder it on your beds, and be silent. Selah
An exploration of the question looking at different worldviews, including people from Gateway's answers.
Psalm 115:2-32 Why do the nations say, “Where is their God?”3 Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.Psalm 116:68aYou are good, and what you do is good.
This talk takes the words of Jesus directed against the hypocrisy of the scribes and pharisees in Matthew 23 and turns them into healthy, positive goals for us to pursue.Yes, it's a 16 point sermon.
Three ways Christianity is utterly unique among world religions, plus a point about apples.
This one's about Jesus becoming -- and remaining -- a full human, and some implications of that."And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us..." (Jn 1:14)
Jesus often told people that. "This happened because you believed." How do we grow in the faith Jesus walked in?
This talk is about our task as leaders to engage people in a way that invites them to excercise their own faith and collaborate with the Spirit, not just "minister to" them. It's based on the way Jesus engaged the two blind men who chased him down and demanded a meeting in Matthew 9:27ff.
Today's only agenda was to pray over individuals and see what happens.
Jesus said it isn't the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. And he didn't come to call good folks, but broken people. This is why we've called the church a kind of hospital for souls...
"And Isaac redug the wells of his father Abraham..." Genesis chapter 26
This talk is about the deepest drive underneath all other human drives.Section 1: Data on HappinessSection 2: A few philosophers (and a mathematician)Section 3: A castrated medieval theologian on happinessI ended by talking about how Christianity is completely unique.
Does God expect blind faith? Are reason and faith opposed?
We discussed some fascinating quotes from this Stoic Roman Emperor who sought to live a virtuous life. Much of his advice to himself can be helpfully applied to us in our life lived with and for Jesus.
Hope for the broken based on the words of Jesus in Matthew 5.
We're made in the image of our Creator, who is creative (Gen 1) and who designed us to be creative (Gen 2).Here's the thesis: To be creative we must allow ourselves the luxury and the discomfort of boredom.The algorythms disrupt this God-given impulse, turning us into consumers.
Tonight we dug deeper into the theme of how we are meant to let go and let God, and what we are meant to hold onto instead of what we naturally do.This was a Wednesday Whiteboard chat.
Questions and answers after one of my annual counseling weeks with short term missions students.
Hurt enough - realize need for changeLearn enough - realize change is possibleReceive enough - able to change
"I don't know," can be scary. But it's part of the posture of a learner.
This Wednesday Whiteboard session was about how we are a part of a much larger story of God's covenant with family lineage, not just individuals.We ended by making some declarations and doing some good spiritual work breaking agreements and making agreements with gospel truths.
This is a reflection on the nature of faith. It tries to work out some implications of what James says in chapter 2 of his letter when he tells us, "Oh you say you believe in one God? Well guess what? The demons believe, but they tremble." Real faith isn't about what we claim to agree with, but what we stake our lives on. This truth cuts two ways:1. If we say we believe, maybe we're wrong.2. If we say we don't believe, maybe we're wrong.
Mark 6:46 “He went up on the mountain to pray.”Where are your meeting places where you go to meet with God? How does beauty play a role in that? How do you set the mood to tune and align your soul to the Father?
The Wednesday evening group helped me process a text from a friend.Then we talked about the question, "What is holiness?"
A real hero bleeds, fails, and grows, because the line between good and evil isn't out there, us and them, but much closer.
Was Jesus racist? What is the children's bread? And other questions... (from Mark 7:24-30)
This chat is about the leftovers in the multiplication of food miracles. It's about how we deal with leftovers historically vs now, and it's about what Jesus wants to do with broken people, and the broken pieces of our lives. Also, cheese is amazing.
47 When evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 48 When he saw that they were straining at the oars against an adverse wind, he came towards them early in the morning, walking on the sea. He intended to pass them by. 49 But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out; 50 for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid."51 Then he got into the boat with them and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, 52 for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened. (Mark 6:47-52 NRS)
After Jesus raised a little girl from the dead one town over, we read in Mark 6 that he couldn't do any mighty works in his hometown because of their unbelief. What's up with that?
43 After sternly warning him he sent him away at once, 44 saying to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."45 But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so that Jesus could no longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter. (Mark 1:40-45 NRS)
“They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and NOT as the scribes.” (Mark 1:22)
Why in the world were people so drawn to John the Baptist? What are some negative associations many of us have with the word "repent?" What is repentance NOT? What is it? What are 6 elements of a great apology? Is repentance easy or hard?This is based on Mark 1:1-8
2 Peter 3 seems as relevant as ever.
It isn't enough to avoid the wrong things (empty and sweep the house). In order to really live the abundant life we are designed to crave, we have to "fill the house."The question I keep considering over and over is, "How do we do that?"
People don't do what's most logical, we do what we believe will make us feel good. Science, psychology, and marketing all verify this, and it makes us often confused by our own choices and the choices of others.How do we leverage this insight for our thriving?How does this impact our approach to God and inviting others to the life of faith?
"The tongue is connected to the heart!" (Theresa said that during the chat.)James 3 provided the context of this Whiteboard session.
What matters most? This chat is about the bullseye of the target and what we tend to get sidetracked by instead.(Based on the parable of the good samaritan in Luke 10).
John 15:4-5 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
An easter message from Romans 5."For if, while we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!" (Rom 5:10)
"As Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life."John 3:14-15
The master of the banquet tasted the good wine, but didn't know where it came from. He completely missed both the miracle and the divine love it revealed. How often do we do that?
The Lord Almighty fights for us.Therefore teach usto fight with weapons of light, not carnal weaponsthe way of the cross, not the way of the swordto bless and not curse (Rom 12:14),to give thanks and not grumble.As we suffer injustice, following Jesus,we entrust ourselves to our Faithful Creatorand continue to do good. (1 Peter 4:19)Pain and pleasure come and go, but God remains. So today I intend to meet all pain with tenderness and meet all pleasure with open hands.
Coming home to God also entails coming home to yourself and returning to what you've neglected and misused, learning from Jesus the art of really living.
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